Putting AgFest's focus on the kids

STOCKTON — When several people decided they would organize a junior livestock show after the San Joaquin County Fair was suspended, people were skeptical it would succeed.

“We had a lot of people who said it can’t be done,” Molly Watkins said.

But Watkins, Bonner Murphy and the rest of the individuals involved in the inception of the San Joaquin AgFest, Junior Show & Auction were confident and determined to make it work.

On Saturday, AgFest wrapped up its fourth successful year.

AgFest grew out of a need to fill a void when the San Joaquin County Fair was canceled in 2014. Families saw how the decision would affect hundreds of local children involved in 4-H and Future Farmers of America who had invested hundreds of hours to their animals.

“(San Joaquin County is) a big player in the agriculture industry and so it’s important that these kids have the opportunity to do this,” Watkins said, adding that she doesn’t know what the kids would have done had the event not been replaced by AgFest.

Prior to the creation of AgFest, fair organizers moved the fair, and with it, the agriculture-centric event, to the fall to coincide with horse racing in an attempt to draw more crowds and address financial shortfalls. The move left families, like the Murphys, unable to participate locally since it would have required exhibitors to miss about a week of classes, she said. There are many benefits to having a local event, such as giving the children a chance to form friendships with other exhibitors in the county.

When the fall move didn’t produce the results organizers wanted, committees were formed to determine how to move forward, said Murphy and Watkins, who participated in the Junior Livestock Committee. It was there that Murphy began creating a guide for how the event should run.

Four days before Christmas, fair organizers announced it wasn’t fiscally possible to hold a fair and therefore it would be put on hold, Murphy said. And at that point, exhibitors already had their animals and started their projects. So Murphy spent that Christmas break starting the nonprofit process for what would turn out to be AgFest and writing the guidebook and bylaws for board members to follow. She even designed the group’s logo.

Murphy, however, is quick to point out that AgFest was not made possible because of one person, it was because of “so many people that did so much and continue to do so much,” she said.

“AgFest is one of the true success stories in the state where parents and the community came in to save the agriculture programs,” Murphy said.

Every year, AgFest is welcoming more and more participants. This year, there were 830 exhibitors and 1,400 animals.

The women said part of why AgFest has thrived is because organizers and staff, who are volunteers, have made the kids the priority, and people want to support those types of programs.

The group was always confident that AgFest would be successful if they simply focused on what was best for the exhibitors, Murphy said. The community needs to foster and nurture these children who may go on to become the people who are producing society’s food or clothes.

“The whole focus is the kids,” Watkins said. “If it doesn’t work for the kids, we don’t do it.”

Janice Colombini, a 4-H leader whose children once participated in showing animals, said these programs are a great experience for the local youth and can teach them valuable skills, such as taking care of an animal.

“I’m so glad that when the fair wasn’t functioning anymore that AgFest stepped into that important role,” she said. “I commend them for — successful or not — doing that. They decided they needed to do that for the kids.

“AgFest puts the kids first; I think that’s the important thing.”

People interested in supporting AgFest can become members for $10. To join, visit sanjoaquinagfest.org/membership.html. For more information on programs or how to help, visit sanjoaquinagfest.org.